It's Like the Beginning of an Era
by Kristen Bealer
Summary: In seventh grade, nothing will keep Sandi from becoming popular. Not even volunteer work. Based on a flashback from 'Daria Dance Party'.


**It's Like the Beginning of an Era**

By Kristen Bealer

* * *

Sandi stared at the chalkboard as her first period English teacher, Mrs. Engstrom, wrote out some exercises. She quietly pulled a magazine out and sighed for the thirty-seventh time that morning. Her mother had given her the "popular" speech at breakfast again.

"It's not enough just to have a few friends, Sandi," her mother had scolded. "You need to rise to the top. Take charge, get people's attention, and be respected. That's the only way you're going to succeed in high school, so you'd better get started now."

Checking to make sure her teacher wasn't looking, Sandi turned a page in her magazine. _Not that anyone ever looks at me, anyway. I'm the biggest nobody in the seventh grade,_ she thought. _No, the biggest nobody in Glenfield Middle School. Maybe in all of Lawndale. I bet even that crazy guy who bounces the rubber ball all day is more popular than I am. At least he gets noticed._ She toyed with the corner of a page. _Maybe I should get a rubber ball._

Sandi sneaked a look at the other side of the room, where Jamie White was sitting. _I wish_ he'd _notice me_, she thought as she twisted and untwisted one of the straps on her overall shorts. She'd had a crush on Jamie since the first grade. He was in most of her classes, but she'd never had the nerve to say more to him than the occasional "hi." _Well, that's not quite true_, she corrected herself. _There was that day a couple years ago when he asked to borrow a pencil. That day I also said, "Uh...uh...'kay."_

Shaking her head slightly, Sandi looked back at her magazine. She had tried everything she could think of to become popular. She'd tried being smart, but discovered quickly that it didn't work unless you actually knew some of the answers. She'd tried being athletic, but gave that up the moment she'd begun to sweat. She'd even tried being the class clown, but nobody laughed at her jokes except Stacy, and she didn't count.

The only thing she was really interested in was fashion, which was why she'd recently gotten a subscription to _Waif_ magazine. As she flipped through the latest issue, she wished she could find a way to turn fashion into popularity. Simply dressing well wasn't enough to get noticed.

_I'm jinxed_, she decided. _Ever since fifth grade, with those stupid, humongous braces. I was a dweeb then, and I'm probably lucky to be just a nobody now. At least everyone's forgotten to call me "metal mouth."_

Her moping was interrupted by the PA system. "Good morning, Glenfield," began Jodie Landon's voice, accompanied by the occasional burst of static. "And here are today's announcements."

Sandi rolled her eyes. Jodie was the most popular girl in both the seventh and eighth grades. Everyone thought she was great because she was smart and involved in every school activity. She was student council president, yearbook chairman, captain of the tennis team, and about a million other things. _That's who Mom wants me to be_, she thought glumly. _Jodie Landon._

"...and in other news, the school dance will be held in three weeks and we need students to help plan it, including a volunteer to lead the committee."

Sandi snorted lightly. _Everyone knows it's going to be--_

"And it's not going to be me!" Jodie crowed.

Every head in the room swiveled to stare at the speaker in shock. _Jodie Landon, the "do everything" girl, isn't going to be in charge of something?_ Sandi's surprise began to fade as an idea formed in her mind. _But maybe..._

Sandi's hand shot into the air. "Mrs. Engstrom?" she called out. "I want to volunteer." _I'm going to take charge, get people's attention, and be respected. Just like Jodie._

o O o

Sandi fretted through the rest of the day, worried that someone else would get to be the committee leader. When the final bell rang, she practically ran to the cafeteria, where the volunteers were supposed to meet. She was the first one there, except of course for Jodie.

"Hi!" Sandi said, panting slightly from both exertion and excitement. As she caught her breath, she added, "I want to volunteer to be committee leader. Please."

Jodie raised an eyebrow. "Well," she said, "I figured one of the eighth graders would do it, but..." She checked her list of volunteers. "...it doesn't look like any of the other committee members have signed up to lead." She looked at Sandi. "Are you sure you want to be in charge?"

Sandi nodded vigorously. "Oh, absolutely."

Jodie shrugged. "Okay, then. As long as I don't have to do it."

As other students began to wander in, Jodie handed Sandi a clipboard with various papers and lists attached. "Here you go. Mr. Robbins is the teacher handling the dance if you need help with anything. Good luck." She headed for the door.

"You're not even going to be on the committee?" Sandi asked.

"Nope!" Jodie said, turning to grin at her. "I agreed to babysit my little sister for free in exchange for not having to participate in any more school activities." The grin faded. "And I'm going to take advantage of that deal until they 'conveniently' forget about it."

As Jodie left, Sandi turned to look at the other volunteers. Her friends Stacy and Tiffany had come because she'd asked them to help. The rest of the students were eighth graders, and she didn't know all of their names. She held up her list of volunteers. "Um, guys? Let's take, like, roll call, okay?"

Brittany Taylor was the only eighth grader whose name she recognized, but everyone at Glenfield knew Brittany. First of all, she was the perkiest, most school-spirit-obsessed student at school--she was wearing Glenfield's school colors, green and white, just like she did every day. Second, she'd reached puberty only a few months before and now had two instantly recognizable assets.

Next on the list was Chuck Ruttheimer, although Sandi had no idea why he had volunteered. Ever since he'd arrived, he'd barely looked at anyone, especially the girls. She'd made eye contact with him when he raised his hand in response to hearing his name called, but he immediately blushed and looked away. _Why would someone so shy want to work on a dance committee?_ Sandi wondered.

Kevin Thompson was also on the list, a gangly, goofy-looking kid who only seemed to be there because he had nothing better to do. He didn't seem particularly smart, but appeared meek enough to follow directions. Sandi figured she could give him the more menial tasks to do.

The last person on the list was Jane Lane. The girl answering to that name had arrived late and looked pretty indifferent to the dance itself, but had perked up a little as she offered to handle the decorations.

The tasks were easy to divide up: Jane would decorate, Chuck asked to do music and entertainment, Brittany offered to make signs and sell tickets, Kevin agreed to take care of refreshments, and Sandi, Stacy, and Tiffany would help out where needed and handle any details that came up. Everyone decided to meet after school the next day to talk about ideas for the dance.

o O o

By the time Sandi got home, she couldn't wait to share her news. "Mom!" she called out as she ran into the house.

"In here, Sandi," came her mother's reply. Sandi's mood immediately plummeted. She knew that tone of voice, and it meant she was in trouble. Slowly, she stepped into the living room, where her mother was standing with her arms crossed. Sandi didn't say anything, because she knew she would only be interrupted and probably dig herself in deeper, no matter what she said.

"Sandi," her mother began icily. "You're over an hour late."

She nodded and softly replied, "Sorry."

Linda's expression didn't change. "You were supposed to watch Sam and Chris after school today. They broke two vases and a lamp by the time I got home."

_Crap!_ Sandi had forgotten all about her brothers. Usually her father came home from work at three to watch them, but he'd had a dentist appointment that afternoon and Sandi had been told to come straight home after school to prevent them from destroying the house or each other. In her excitement over the dance, she'd never given them a second thought.

"Mom, I really am sorry. It's just that, uh..." She hesitated, wondering if it was wise to share her news when her mother was in such a bad mood, but then reasoned that it might at least provide a distraction. "...I'm in charge of planning the middle school dance! I had a meeting after school."

Linda narrowed her eyes. "You're planning a school event?"

"Yeah. They needed someone to lead the committee and I volunteered."

Shaking her head, Linda sighed. "Sandi, you should have discussed this with me first."

Sandi's face fell. "But I thought it was a good idea! I'm going to be the center of attention, and everyone is finally going to notice me."

"No, Sandi." Linda sat on the couch and looked at her daughter with a mixture of pity and scorn. "Volunteerism won't make you popular. You'll be expected to do all of the work, you won't be thanked for it, and everyone will blame you if something goes wrong. It's an excuse for everyone to use you."

Sandi frowned. "But I've got a whole committee to help me! I can make this work. I know it!"

Linda shrugged. "Go ahead and try. Just don't expect me to be surprised when everything blows up in your face." Rising, she left the room before Sandi could say another word.

_Well, at least she forgot to punish me_, Sandi thought. _All she did was totally destroy my excitement and optimism._

o O o

By the next day, Sandi had regained her enthusiasm. Once again, she was the first one to the committee meeting after school aside from Stacy and Tiffany, who had followed behind her as she hurried to the cafeteria.

As she set down her backpack, Sandi noticed Stacy getting out a notebook. She raised an eyebrow quizzically, and Stacy explained, "I thought I'd take notes on the meetings. That way, all of the ideas will be written down and we won't forget anything."

"Great idea," Sandi commented.

"I thought so," Stacy replied with a proud smile.

The rest of the committee members began to arrive, and Sandi spoke up as the last student walked in. "All right, I think we should all take turns saying what ideas we have. I guess the first thing we should decide on is a theme. What does everyone else think?"

She pointed to Tiffany, who took a deep breath and said, "Ithinkthatsoundsgreat,Sandi. Maybewecoulddolikeafairytaletheme. Youknow,likecastlesandprincessesandstuff. Orhowabout--"

Sandi held up a hand to stop her. "Slow down, please, Tiffany." Stacy, scribbling furiously in her notebook, nodded and stopped to flex her fingers.

Tiffany giggled. "Right, sorry."

Accustomed to her friend's pace after several years of practice, Sandi only took a moment to decipher Tiffany's rapid speech. "I think a fairy tale theme would be cute," she began diplomatically, "but the guys might think it's too, um, girly." She turned toward Kevin and Chuck. "What do you two think?"

Chuck blushed again and mumbled something quietly. Kevin blinked at Sandi for a moment, then said, "Uh, sorry, I wasn't paying attention."

"Never mind," Sandi said with a small sigh. "Stacy? Any ideas?"

Stacy glanced up from her notes and shook her head. "Nope."

"Brittany?"

"Our theme could be Glenfield Middle School!"

Sandi frowned slightly. "I'm not sure how that would work. I mean, the dance is going to be at the school gym, so it's not like we would need to decorate anything to make it _look_ like Glenfield, you know?"

Brittany nodded slowly. "Oh, yeah."

Sandi gave her a brief smile before turning toward Chuck, who immediately shrugged and looked away. Sandi barely prevented herself from rolling her eyes. _Why is he here? He's, like, too shy to even talk to anyone._

"Kevin? What about you?"

"What about me what?"

"Do you have any ideas?"

"About what?"

"The dance, Kevin." Sandi was beginning to get a headache.

"Oh, that. Nah."

"Jane?"

"I was thinking we could decorate the gym like a zoo, and have real live animals there."

Sandi asked, "You mean like dogs and cats?"

"No, more like bears and monkeys."

Everyone in the room, even Kevin, stared at Jane. Sandi finally spoke. "Uh, I think that might be kind of dangerous."

Jane shrugged. "More fun that way."

Sandi groaned quietly. This wasn't going as well as she'd hoped.

o O o

By the end of the meeting, the only thing the committee had agreed on was that there would be music at the dance. Sandi had felt a glimmer of hope when Jane mentioned her brother was trying to start a band, but it faded immediately when she added that they didn't have a drummer yet. And they didn't actually know any songs. And they really weren't very good, anyway.

In the end, Sandi instructed everyone to work on planning on their own and to come back the next day with some solid ideas. As the students began to leave, she put a hand on Chuck's arm to stop him. "Chuck?"

He immediately looked terrified. "Chuck," she said again, as gently as she could, "I just want to ask you something."

Staring at the floor, he nodded.

"Why did you sign up for this? I mean, you never talk and you don't have any ideas. So why did you join the dance committee?"

There was a long pause, then Chuck cleared his throat and, not looking up from his feet, said, "I have ideas."

He added nothing further, so Sandi prompted, "Such as?"

He shrugged and ran a hand through his curly red hair. "Stuff. I'm just a little, you know..."

"Shy?"

Chuck finally looked at Sandi. "I was going to say 'aloof,' but yeah." A tiny smile formed on his lips and she realized he'd made a joke. She laughed lightly, trying to encourage him.

"Okay, aloof. But why did you join us?"

His eyes flickered back to his feet, then back up again. "My dad made me. He said I have to participate in school activities. He wants me to get over being shy and meet g--uh, meet people."

Sandi nodded sympathetically. She could relate to overbearing parents. "Well, meet me." She held out her hand. "Sandi Griffin," she stated in an overly polite tone.

Chuck took her hand and shook it. "Charles Ruttheimer the Third," he replied with the same mock formality.

"Pleased to meet you," Sandi said with a tiny bow. "Now, what was that about ideas for the dance?"

"Well, how do you feel about DJs?"

o O o

After school the next day, Sandi stopped abruptly on the way to the meeting. Jamie White was at the water fountain down the hall. "Go on ahead," she told Stacy and Tiffany. "I'll meet you there."

Sandi smoothed her hair and rubbed her teeth with her finger to make sure she didn't have any food stuck there from lunch. Striding over, she took a deep breath and said, "Hi, Jamie."

Jamie turned and said, "Hi." There was an awkward silence.

As he began to leave, Sandi finally spoke up in desperation. "I just wanted to make sure you know about the school dance. It's a couple weeks from Saturday, and I'm leading the dance committee."

Jamie nodded. "Yeah, I heard the announcement the other day."

"Okay." She hesitated, then decided to go for it. "Have you asked anyone--"

"Sandi!" Stacy was calling down the hallway to her. "We're ready to start. Are you coming or not?"

"Yes!" she snapped, then turned back to Jamie. "Look, I'll talk to you later, okay?"

"Sure," Jamie replied. "See you later, Sally."

"It's..." He was already walking away, not paying attention. _As usual._ She finished quietly, "...Sandi." Shoulders slumped, she trudged to the cafeteria.

Everyone else was there, including Brittany, who bounded forward the moment Sandi entered. "Look!" she squeaked. "What do you think of this poster?" She handed her a sheet of paper and grinned.

"It's really pretty," Sandi commented, looking over the page. "But I think 'school' has an 'h' in it. And 'dance' is spelled with a 'c' rather than an 's'. And 'Saturday' doesn't have a 'g' in it. And..." She looked up at Brittany. "Why don't I just proofread this and then we can make the rest?"

Brittany's eyes widened. "But I already made all of them!"

Sandi groaned.

"Did you want to see the other two?"

"You only made three posters?" Sandi asked.

"Yeah. Do you think I should make another one?"

Sandi bit back a frustrated response, but then saw Chuck give her an amused smile. Feeling a little better, she nodded to Brittany. "Maybe more than that. We'll talk about it later." She looked at the rest of the committee. "What did the rest of you come up with last night?" she asked hopefully.

Kevin held up a cardboard box. "I made cookies!" he said. "Well, my mom helped. Uh, she let me stir the cookie dough. I didn't spill too much of it." Handing the box to Sandi, he continued, "I figured she--we can make a bunch more for the dance."

Sandi looked in the box. "Kevin, this is empty."

He scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. "Yeah, I kind of ate some of them earlier today."

"Some of them?"

"All of them. Saw-ree."

Sandi rolled her eyes, but he seemed genuinely apologetic. "Well, it's a good idea, anyway. As long as your mom doesn't mind making a lot of cookies."

"Naw. She's cool. Anyway, I'll be helping. She says I'm the best dough mixer ever."

"Okay. Thanks, Kevin." Sandi turned to Chuck. "Why don't you tell everyone about your idea yesterday?" she asked. Chuck turned red and stared at her, wide-eyed. _Guess he isn't ready to talk to anyone else yet._ "Or," she added quickly, "why don't I tell everyone?" He gave her a tiny smirk and nodded. "Chuck says his cousins like to do DJ stuff. They don't go to our school, but he says they'd be willing to come to the dance and take care of music for us. What does everyone think?"

"Thatsoundstotallycool! IloveDJsexceptthoseannoyingoneslikeontheradio. They'renormalthoughright? Anywayitdoesn'treallymatterIguess. Aslongaswegettopickthemusic. Whatiftheywanttoplaythatgrungemusic? Thatwouldlikebesooo--" Tiffany stopped mid-sentence and began to wheeze slightly.

"Tiffany," Sandi admonished gently. "You know you have to slow down when you talk. You keep running out of air."

Tiffany nodded, still catching her breath. "Deejays...sound good," she panted.

"Everyone else?" Sandi asked. Nods and thumbs-up greeted her. Stacy continued to scribble in her notebook. "Okay. So what about decorations? Jane?"

Jane glanced up from her own notebook, where she appeared to be sketching a picture of a dance attended by zombies. "What? Oh, decorations." She thought for a moment. "Um...how about we make the gym look like a POW camp?"

Sandi just blinked at Jane. "I don't think that would be very, uh, festive," she replied at last.

Kevin raised his hand. "What's a--"

"Not right now, Kevin," Sandi said. "Ask your social studies teacher tomorrow." She cocked her head at Jane. "Don't you have any other ideas?"

Still sketching, Jane offered, "How about a shoe store motif? Everyone likes shoe stores, right?"

Sandi did, but decided not to mention it. "I, uh, don't know if that's a good--"

"Oh, I know! Let's decorate the gym like the inside of the Concorde!"

Covering her face with her hands, Sandi groaned. "Jane, I'm not sure you're taking this very seriously."

"Well, duh," Jane replied. As Sandi looked up at her, she continued, "I'm only here to earn a badge for Girl Scouts."

"You're in Girl Scouts?"

"Not for much longer," Jane replied with a smirk. "I bet my scout leader that if I could earn a badge, she'd let me quit. Joining the committee earned me the badge, so now I just need to get kicked out."

Sandi wasn't sure what part of Jane's explanation she should react to first. Finally, she sighed and asked, "So why didn't you just drop out of the committee after you got the badge?"

"That would be cheating."

Shaking her head, Sandi said, "Fine. You are officially dismissed from the dance committee."

Jane nodded her thanks and gathered her things. As she walked out of the cafeteria, Sandi heard her whistling the tune to "John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt."

o O o

The meeting went downhill from there. Afterwards, as Sandi grabbed her backpack and prepared to leave, Chuck nervously approached her. "Hi," he said. "Would you like--I mean, it's okay if not--but I could if that's all right with you--I can walk you home if you want." His cheeks were already turning pink, but Sandi felt flattered.

"Sure," she said. Glancing around to make sure no one was within earshot, she added, "It'll be nice to talk to someone intelligent for awhile."

Chuck's face immediately went from pink to bright red. Smiling shyly, he opened the cafeteria door and motioned for her to step through.

"So," he said as they walked, "I never asked you why _you're_ on the dance committee."

"Promise you won't laugh?"

"Promise. Scout's honor."

She giggled, thinking about Jane. "My mom wants me to be popular, so I thought this would be a good way to do it."

Chuck gave her a half-smile that told her he was thinking about his father's demands. "And how's that going?"

Sandi rolled her eyes. "Badly. I'm stressed out, nothing's getting done, and if this dance doesn't come together I think I'm going to be even less popular than I am now." She paused, then added, "If that's possible."

"Look on the bright side," Chuck offered. "At least _you_ can talk to people without fainting."

She shrugged. "Good for me. Too bad that's not good enough for my mom."

"No, really." He glanced over at her. "You're a good leader. That should count for something."

"Maybe," she admitted doubtfully. "Now if only I could find a way to be a good leader without having to do any work."

"How about getting elected mayor of Lawndale? He's a leader who never seems to do anything useful."

Sandi laughed again. "I said I want to be popular, not corrupt!"

As they neared the Griffin house, she smiled at Chuck. "Thanks for walking me home," she said. "And don't worry about being shy. The trick is pretending you're confident. That's what I do, anyway."

Chuck nodded seriously. "I'll try," he said. "But don't expect any miracles."

Sandi turned as she reached the front door. "If I expected miracles, I'd expect Kevin and Brittany to come to tomorrow's meeting with something useful to contribute." She rolled her eyes. "God, wouldn't they just make the perfect couple?"

"More like the perfect storm of stupidity." He smirked and waved as he continued down the sidewalk toward his own house.

o O o

Many frustrating and slow-witted meetings went by, and at last Sandi walked to the very last committee meeting. It was Friday, and the school dance was the following night. She'd baby-stepped Brittany through making the posters as well as the ticket sales, spelled out Kevin's responsibilities in very small words, and generally handled most of the work herself. Chuck, Stacy, and Tiffany had all at least been helpful, but she'd still barely had time to find a gorgeous halter dress to wear to the dance.

Taking a deep breath, Sandi stepped into the cafeteria. Stacy and Tiffany were giggling together at one table, while Brittany stared off into space and Kevin practiced balancing a pencil on his nose. Chuck stood off to the side and tried not to make eye contact with anyone. Sandi had actually gotten him to speak occasionally at their meetings, but for the most part he was still too shy to interact with the others.

Sandi cleared her throat gently. "Okay, guys," she announced. "Tomorrow's the big day. Today I just want to check with all of you and make sure you're all ready. Kevin?"

Kevin nodded, and the pencil fell away and rolled under a chair. As he scrambled after it, he said, "I bought chips and soda, and me and my mom are gonna make cookies tomorrow morning."

"Brittany?"

"I sold all the tickets!" she exclaimed brightly. "Everybody's really psyched for the dance."

"Chuck?"

"Brad and Brett are ready to go," he replied quietly.

"Great," Sandi said. "Stacy, Tiffany, and I have been working all week on the decorations, and they're ready at my house. I'll bring them tomorrow. Is everyone okay to meet here after lunch tomorrow to set everything up?"

Everyone nodded, and the meeting drifted into other topics until they adjourned.

"Sandi?" Chuck asked as everyone else filed out of the cafeteria.

"Yes, Chuck?" Sandi was checking her notes to make sure she hadn't forgotten anything.

Chuck hesitated. "Do you--I mean, I was--would you like to--um...never mind. See you tomorrow!" He turned and hurried out before Sandi could respond.

_He's gone from shy to just plain weird_, she thought, shaking her head. Shrugging off his strange behavior, Sandi allowed herself to smile as she thought about the dance. _It nearly killed me, but this thing is finally coming together!_

o O o

Early the next morning, Sandi gathered all of the confetti and crepe paper to take to the school. She filled all of the green-and-white balloons with helium and hoped they'd last until the end of the night. Spreading the banner out on the living room couch, she grinned with satisfaction. _It's perfect!_ she assured herself. _Jane might have bailed on us, but we still pulled off the decorations!_

She went upstairs to get the paper chains, then returned to the living room in time to see her brothers playing tug-of-war with the banner. "Stop!" she cried. "You'll--" She was interrupted by a tearing sound before she could finish, "--rip it."

Sam and Chris looked up at her, unconcerned. She stared at the banner in shock, remembering how hard she'd worked on it. Now there was a huge rip right in the middle of the word "school." Sandi began to shake, and suddenly she stamped her foot and screamed, "You stupid brats!"

Her mother came in from the kitchen to see what she was yelling about. Sam and Chris, momentarily stunned by her insult, stuck their tongues out and began systematically destroying the banner out of spite.

"Sandi," Linda admonished calmly, ignoring the boys, "what have I told you about raising your voice in the house?"

"I don't care!" Sandi shouted, close to tears. The frustration at her mother, her fellow committee members, and now her brothers finally pushed her to the breaking point. "I'll never work on another dance again! They expect you to do stuff, and now everything's messed up and the whole school's going to blame me." She scowled, adding, "Plus, I haven't even had time to find sandals to go with my new halter dress!" Tears were stinging her eyes as she silently added, _And I've been so busy, I never got the chance to ask Jamie White to go to the dance with me._

"Sandi, I warned you." Linda crossed her arms. "To volunteer is to say, 'use me.'"

Sandi was only vaguely aware of the banner lying behind her, now in shreds. She saw that her brothers had started letting helium out of all of the balloons, leaving only a couple untouched. Hanging her head, she fought back her tears. Her mother didn't like crying, and it would only make things worse.

Sighing, Linda shook her head and headed for the kitchen. "All right, Sandi. There's no need to be overdramatic. Before I drop you off at the school, I'll take you to Cranberry Commons for new supplies and you and your committee can make new decorations before the dance starts."

"Fine." Sandi glared at her brothers and the carnage they had created, then put her nose in the air and crossed her arms. She decided it would be better not to let them have the satisfaction of seeing how angry she was. "Since you two have so much time on your hands, maybe _you_ should clean up the living room." She flounced up the stairs to her room, proud of her haughty demeanor. _Never give anyone the satisfaction of seeing you upset._

o O o

Later, Sandi struggled under the weight of almost a dozen shopping bags as she walked through the mall. As she passed "Put Your Foot In It," the shoe store, she nearly dropped them all as she noticed a pair of shoes in the window. "Perfect!" she whispered. She lugged her bags into the store and grabbed the shoes to try them on. _They're just right_, she realized. _And they'll look totally fantastic with my dress!_

Paying with the shoes with the last of her funds, Sandi added them to her load and hurried out to the parking lot where her mother was waiting. _At least the morning hasn't been a total waste_, she reflected happily.

o O o

Sandi arrived at the gym, still loaded down with supplies. She set everything down on the closest table and turned to the rest of the committee to break the bad news. Before she could say a word, though, Brittany burst into tears.

"What's wrong?" Sandi asked. _Did she find out about the ruined decorations?_

Brittany responded with a string of squeaks and gibberish, but Sandi thought she caught the words "tickets" and "money."

"Did someone steal the ticket money, Brittany?" she asked. They were supposed to turn the money from the ticket sales over to Mr. Robbins, their teacher supervisor, after the meeting.

Brittany shook her head and wiped her eyes on the back of her hand. "N--No," she stuttered. "I can't remember where I put it!"

Sandi groaned. She'd pounded the importance of finding a safe place to put the money into Brittany's head constantly over the last couple weeks. It hadn't even occurred to her to tell Brittany to remember where that place was.

"Well, where did you have it last?" _God, I sound like my mother._ When Brittany began to lapse into sobs once again, Sandi decided she'd had enough. "Well, Brittany," she drawled icily. "I guess you don't care if Mr. Robbins thinks you stole the money." She put emphasis on the last few words. Brittany stopped crying immediately and stared at Sandi in horror.

Satisfied that she finally had Brittany's attention, Sandi turned to Stacy. "Do you have anything in your notes about Brittany saying where she put the money?" she demanded. As Stacy began flipping pages, Sandi sighed and added, "Excuse me, but we don't have all day."

Stacy looked up, surprised at the sharp tone, but began searching faster. At last, she stopped and pointed to one of the pages. "Here!" she said. "Last week you told Brittany, 'Make sure you don't carry the ticket money around with you at school, because it might get stolen,' and Brittany said, 'But the students are so nice! They wouldn't steal the ticket money!' and you said, 'Better safe than sorry,' and Brittany said, 'I know! I'll put it in the bank,' and you said, 'Fine. Any other business?'"

Sandi paused only briefly to reflect on how Stacy had managed to write down everything that had been said at the meetings, verbatim, before she realized that it was Saturday. "Oh, no!" she groaned. "Which bank did you put the money in, Brittany? Is it open today?"

Brittany frowned, deep in something that resembled thought. "I...think so," she said. "I should go home and check."

"Home?"

She nodded. "Yeah, that's where my bank is." She grinned. "It's shaped like a teddy bear! It's sooo cute. It has this adorable little hat and--"

"Brittany," Sandi interrupted with gritted teeth. "Go...get...the...money. Now."

"Oh, right," Brittany said with a giggle. "Be back in a little bit!"

As she headed out, Sandi turned to Stacy. "Go with her and make sure she remembers, okay?" Stacy closed her notebook and nodded before following Brittany out the door.

Sighing with relief, Sandi finally looked around the room. That's when she spotted the refreshment table on the other end of the room. Gasping, she ran over to stare at what Kevin had brought. "One bag of chips and a six-pack of soda?" she screeched.

"And a whole bunch of cookies," Kevin added, taking another bite of the one in his hand.

Sandi looked in the box. "Seven cookies left," she said. _At least he didn't eat_ all _of them this time._

"Gee, Kevin," she snapped. "Did you, like, forget how many people are coming to the dance tonight?"

"Saw-ree."

Sandi growled slightly under her breath. "Look, Kevin, you're going back to Food Lord and you're buying a lot more food." She scribbled a list of items, plus quantities, and started to give it to Kevin. At the last second, she pulled it back and thrust it into Tiffany's hand instead. "You go, too. Don't let him flake out again."

Tiffany took the list and said, "OkayI'llmakesurehegetseverything. Don'tworryyoucancountonme!"

Massaging her temples, Sandi said, "And speak slowly, dammit! He can barely comprehend plain English, Tiffany. If you talk too fast, he'll have no idea what you're saying. So at least try to speak like a normal human being!"

Tiffany looked slightly annoyed. "How...about...thiiiis?" she asked, drawing out each word at a painstakingly slow pace.

Sandi started to argue, but decided against it. _No time._ "Perfect. Now get moving!"

As she watched the pair leave together, Sandi turned to the bags of supplies she'd brought and sighed. Chuck stepped forward and commented, "That's one way to get things accomplished."

"Yeah," Sandi replied with a forced laugh. "I guess I just needed to get a little feisty." Chuck smiled, but before he could respond, she continued, "Okay, I need your help. Don't even ask why, but the two of us have to make the decorations from scratch. Right now."

He saluted and pulled some streamers out of one of the bags. "Yes, ma'am!"

As they frantically worked to decorate the gym, Chuck looked over at Sandi. "So, I was wondering," he began.

"Make it fast!" Sandi replied. "We've got to finish this banner soon or the paint won't be dry in time for the dance."

"Do you want to go to the dance with me?" The words tumbled out in a rush, and Chuck looked embarrassed.

Sandi was shocked, but only for a moment. As she went back to painting, she mustered as much nonchalance as she could and answered, "Sure." _The perfect shoes_ and _a date, all at the last minute! He may not be Jamie White, but he's an eighth grader, so that's pretty cool. And at least he knows my name._

o O o

Brittany and Stacy returned with the money, Kevin and Tiffany came back with plenty of food, and they all finished the decorations with almost two hours to spare before the dance. An exhausted Sandi went home with just enough time to shower, eat dinner, and change into her new outfit before her father dropped her off at school to meet Chuck before the dance.

"Sandi!" She heard Chuck calling her as she stepped out of the car. "Over here!" He was waving her over and smiling. _He's getting over his shyness_, she mused.

She walked over to the school entrance, where Chuck was standing with two brown-haired boys. "This is Brad and this is Brett," he said, pointing to each boy as he introduced them.

Noticing that the boys were identical twins, Sandi commented, "I doubt I'll remember which one is which!"

Brad said, "Double your pleasure, lovely lady?" Brett leered and raised his eyebrows suggestively.

Sandi shuddered slightly and looked at Chuck. "Let's go inside," she said, pointedly ignoring his cousins.

He agreed and opened the door for her. As she walked inside, she heard him hiss, "Tone it down, guys! Some girls don't like that, okay?"

"Yeah, but some of them do!" crowed one of the twins.

"Well, learn to tell the difference," Chuck snapped as he followed Sandi into the school.

As soon as they entered the gym, Brad and Brett cooled off their act and started the music. Sandi decided that, slimy personalities aside, they were pretty good as DJs. _As long as they stay over there, like, away from me._

Because Sandi and Chuck had arrived early, the rest of the students were only just beginning to arrive. She glanced around the room to make sure everything looked all right, then shrugged off her coat and handed it to Chuck. "Could you hang this up for me?" she asked.

Also inspecting the gym for possible problems, Chuck nodded and headed off with her coat. When he came back, he suddenly noticed her halter dress--and how she looked in it. Sandi noted his reaction with delight. _I look glamorous_, she decided. _Sexy, even. I bet I could pass for fifteen!_

Chuck stared at her, eyes wide and mouth hanging slightly open. Sandi giggled. "I'm up here," she teased.

Eyes immediately on her face, Chuck gulped and blushed. "Sorry."

She waved a hand dismissively. "Want to dance?" He nodded, still stunned, just as a slow song began to play. Sandi hesitated, but then stepped forward and put her arms around his shoulders. After a moment, he put his hands on her waist. After a few stiff, awkward steps, Sandi leaned over to his ear and whispered, "Loosen up, Chuck. I'm not going to bite."

Suddenly Chuck began to shake violently. Sandi stepped back to look at him with concern. "Are you all right?" she asked.

"Rrrr... Rrrr..." was his only response.

"Chuck?"

"Rrrr...rrrrawlgghhh!" he said as he abruptly bent over and threw up--all over Sandi's feet.

"Ewwww!" Sandi cried, looking in horror at her brand-new, now ruined, shoes. Then she heard the laughter. She looked up to see several people gawking and snickering at them. At both of them.

_It's a nightmare!_ Sandi realized in an instant. And in that instant, she also realized that her popularity--or lack of it--was at stake. More heads were beginning to turn, and some of the students were pointing them out to others. _I'm gonna be a laughingstock. Unless..._ She looked at Chuck, who was already about to apologize. Then she looked at the other kids. She took another step away from Chuck.

"_God_, Chuck," she exclaimed with contempt. He jumped slightly at the coldness in her voice. Tossing her hair, she added, "Or should I say, _Up_chuck." As the other students began to taunt Chuck with his new nickname, Sandi stalked away to the restroom. Ultimately dumping the unsalvageable shoes in the trash, she cleaned her feet and ankles as well as she could and returned to the gym barefoot.

She noticed Chuck out of the corner of her eye, looking hopeful, as she walked in. She quickly turned away and walked in a different direction.

"Sandi, right?" She turned to see Jamie standing nearby, holding a glass of soda.

"That's right," she replied, trying to sound cool and sophisticated. Inside, she was squealing with joy.

"You did a good job on the dance. I, uh, brought you a soda."

"Thanks," she said, giving him her most dazzling smile. She glanced over at Chuck again, and saw that he had joined his cousins at the DJ booth while a custodian cleaned up the mess on the gym floor. She felt a brief pang of guilt at the look of humiliation and pain on Chuck's face, and wondered if she should go over and apologize. I guess it wasn't really his fault, and maybe I was kind of hard on--

"So, do you want to dance?" Jamie's voice interrupted her thoughts. Sandi turned her attention back to him and pushed all thoughts of Chuck out of her mind.

"Definitely," she said, taking his hand and leading him out to the dance floor.

As they danced, Sandi reveled in the smiles and compliments she received from her fellow students. _I did it!_ she rejoiced. _I took charge, I got people's attention, and now I'm respected._ Her brow furrowed slightly. _But one thing's for sure: no way am I ever volunteering for anything again. I'll just have to find a way to be popular without doing any work._

Sliding closer to Jamie, she mused, _At least I know I can count on Stacy and Tiffany to help out. Maybe between the three of us..._

She smiled at Jamie again. _Nothing can stop me now!_

* * *

Thank you to MMan and RLobinske for beta-reading.


End file.
